Many devices employ pedals for foot-actuated operation. Among the many devices capable of foot-actuated operation by way of pedal(s) are automobiles, helicopters, airplanes, backhoes and other such vehicles and heavy equipment, looms, sewing machines, treadles, knitting machines, mills, lathes, pumps, and other such industrial apparatuses, to name just a few examples.
Another category of device which may employ pedal(s) for foot-actuated operation is musical instruments such as organs, pianos, and other keyboard instruments, as well as drums, cymbals, and other such percussion instruments.
Drum pedals have been used for playing drums for more than a century. Many improvements on the drum pedal have been made, allowing better operability and facilitating various performance styles.
One factor still in need of improvement with pedals currently on the market is comfort. Repeated multiple beats, e.g., doublets, triplets, etc., provide an attractive performance but can be difficult and tiring for many players. Many players find that their foot becomes fatigued after performing for an extended period of time, especially when generating repeated multiple beats in rapid succession.
Another factor still in need of improvement with pedals currently on the market is ability to accommodate various techniques.
To generate a doublet, i.e., two repeated beats, a player might simply repeat the same foot movement twice in rapid succession, or for improved comfort and greater degrees of freedom during playing a player might, for example, employ a sliding technique or a heel-toe technique.
In a sliding technique for producing a doublet, a player might first depress one location of the drum pedal with his or her toe to generate a first stroke, slide the foot along the pedal toward the toe or the heel end of the pedal, and then depress a second location of the pedal to generate a second stroke. However, with a conventional flat pedal, many players find foot positioning difficult and find the sliding motion difficult to control or uncomfortable.
In a heel-toe technique for producing a doublet, a player might first depress the pedal with his or her heel to generate a first stroke, and then tilt the toe down to depress the pedal with his or her toe to generate a second stroke. This technique can cause fatigue of the ankle when playing for an extended period.
Similar techniques may also be employed for producing a triplet, i.e., three repeated beats, which is generally even more difficult than a doublet.
Conventional pedals are typically flat, or where such conventional deviate from planar, they may have spiky protrusions, and may employ joggled or stepped surfaces.
With a flat drum pedal, techniques such as the sliding technique and the heel-toe technique are tiring and are difficult to master. A flat pedal is generally devoid of features that might assist the player in locating the foot during playing. Unless a player can quickly and reliably locate his or her foot by the “feel” of the pedal, it will be difficult to develop the dexterity required for advanced sliding and heel-toe techniques.
Furthermore, a flat pedal is a poor match for the shape of the foot, and a flat pedal requires considerably more movement of the foot and/or ankle than would be necessary if the pedal were a better match for the shape of the foot.
Moreover, when using the heel-toe technique with a flat pedal, the heel and/or toe tend to strike the pedal surface at a glancing angle. A pedal shape that would permit the foot—and in particular the heel of the foot and/or the ball of the foot (note that the term “toe” as used herein may include the ball of the foot)—to strike the pedal at an angle more nearly perpendicular to the pedal surface would improve the leverage or efficiency with which force is transferred from the player's foot to the drum pedal, permitting stronger and/or less tiring performance.
Furthermore, a pedal surface that is interrupted by spiky protrusions or sharply stepped surfaces is not conducive to techniques that utilize sliding motion of the foot across the pedal surface. Moreover, a pedal having a smoothly varying contour would be especially desirable for a player who employs bare feet or who wears socks but no shoes or who wears thin shoes or other such foot coverings for improved comfort and sensitivity in locating the foot on a pedal.
In addition, whereas conventional pedals tend to be only slightly longer than the foot of the player, a pedal that is substantially longer than the foot of the player would not only increase leverage about the fulcrum of the heel hinge, permitting more powerful and/or less tiring playing, but would also facilitate more sustained sliding along the length direction of the pedal. A pedal substantially longer than the foot of the player may also accommodate multiple striking locations beyond the basic heel-toe striking positions employed conventionally.
There is therefore a need for an improved pedal that addresses at least one of the foregoing issues.